Criminal disenfranchisement: Developments in and lessons from Scotland

Cara L. C. Hunter, Fergus McNeill, Milena Tripkovic

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article explores both the reasons for, and the potential impact of, the current level of disenfranchisement in Scotland. First, we scrutinise Scottish legal provisions for their compatibility with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)’s jurisprudence, which require disenfranchisement's aims to be clarified and delimited. Second, we examine where disenfranchisement sits within the wider context of Scottish penal values, and what principles underlie its imposition. Finally, we turn to a discussion of whether and how dis/enfranchisement aligns with the Scottish Government's commitments to the rehabilitation and reintegration of people who have been in prison, and to related empirical evidence about desistance from crime. The limited enfranchisement of prisoners established by the Scottish Government in 2020 avoided these core questions and this article aims to help address this neglect and to open up dialogue on these issues.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-20
Number of pages20
JournalHoward Journal of Criminal Justice
Early online date23 Oct 2023
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 23 Oct 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • disenfranchisement
  • penalty
  • prisoner enfranchisement
  • rehabilitation
  • reintegration
  • Scotland

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